Chapter 11 A Waking Nightmare

I watched as the light faded from her eyes, and her eyes began to close. The last words I heard her utter were,

"Helios I'm so scared,"

as her hand slipped out of mine and landed with a soft thud on the bed. Hearing those words as she went into a hyper sleep literally broke his heart in two. His Queen went into a deep sleep completely terrified, and lonely. The days passed slowly turning into months as they traveled through the worm hole. Helios paced back and forth in front of the pod his Queen was resting in hoping that she would wake up soon. The days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into almost a year.

Helios was getting worried that his Queen would never wake up. Because the King couldn't leave her side, his desk was brought into the medical wing so he could work and watched over her as she slept. The people of Kosea don't ever sleep like humans do.

The time passed much differently for Helios than it did for his Queen. The days were long while the nights were even more endless.

"Knock knock Knock," Ihloi knocked on the door as he stepped into the room carrying a tray with snacks and the green sludge drink.

"Sire, you must eat something. You only ever eat once every thirty days now. You need your strength for when your Queen awakens. Heaven knows your going to need it. At her age human female children are a handful. She will be under you hand and foot,"

Ihloi chuckled as he sat the tray of snacks down in front of the King, trying to lighten the mood. The King sighed, asking him for the millionth time,

"Are you sure the doctors did their job correctly? She hasn't stirred, twitched, or even moved a muscle since she went into hyper sleep. I'm beginning to worry she will never wake up. She should have awoken ages ago. I don't understand what's taking her so long,"

the King murmured as he took a bite of one of the sandwiches on the tray. He looked over at his Queen with a deep sadness in his eyes.

"The doctors did just fine. She is perfectly normal. Her vitals look great. She's probably just exhausted from everything that has happened to her. You have to remember she was getting roasted alive when we found her. Her planet was burning up. She lost her family, her home, and her entire people. She watched as everything she has ever known go up in smoke right in front of her. Not to mention she was whisked away to another world all together. She probably realized she is the last human being to exist. She's been through such an ordeal, it's probably taken a toll on her body, mind, and soul. After all she's still considered a newborn on our planet. Our newborns back in Kosea have her beat by about one million years in age. She's been through so much in such a short time. Give her some time, she'll come around when she's ready," Ihloi reassured his King.

"I know I'm just upset that I didn't find her sooner, before her memories formed. I can't take away any of her old memories away but once we mate I'll make sure she doesn't experience any bad memories. I want to protect her from anything that will take away her smile. I can't believe the way she was treated on that planet. It's a miracle her heart remained so pure even when she was cast aside and forgotten by everyone she knew. As for that boy who poured that brown stuff down her chest, I'm glad he got roasted alive. He deserved every last bit of his fate,"

the King smirked as he balled his hands into a fist. Hesitating on telling Ihoi his thoughts he finally caved,

"there were a few times when I was able to hear her thoughts and dreams. I thought we weren't able to until after we mated? Isn't there supposed to be a barrier that all females have until they mate and it's tossed aside so the males can protect their females? Not only that but twice she was able to toss off my invisibility charm. Humans can't do magic at all yet she was able to with such ease. I wonder who she is, what her relations were. There is something special about her."

Ihloi shrugged, "I have never heard of a human female being able to do magic period in Kosea. As for you being able to hear her thoughts and her dreams before mating is truly remarkable. Her feelings for you must be stronger than her own if she was able to cast her barrier aside so you can hear. Only someone who is selfless and cares for others deeply more than themselves would be able to do this. I've read about it in books but I have never come across any female in Kosea or the other cities who were able to do what she has done."

The King stared at his Queen, slumbering peacefully. Her soul must have been crying out to me desperately wanting for me to hear her. The King shuttered to think just how mangled her soul must have been to call out to him so desperately. Walking up to the hibernation pod Ihloi stared at his new Queen beyond the glass,

"You really outdid yourself Sire, she is remarkably beautiful. Even without her mate markings she's absolutely stunning. I just wish I had gotten a chance to speak with her before she went into hyper-sleep. She seemed so shy when she boarded the ship, the way she was clinging to you was absolutely adorable. I almost wish I was her mate so I can see into her heart," Ihloi chuckled again.

"She's mine," the King growled at Ihloi.

"I will never share her with anyone. She's not allowed to have a harem like the other female's. I will fight anyone who dares to approach her with even an inkling of wanting to be with her."

The King stepped in front of his Queen shielding her from Ihloi's line of sight.

"Don't worry your Highness, you don't have to worry about me asking her. I am here to serve you both. That is all,"

Ihloi roared with laughter as he witnessed his King getting jealous for the first time.

Placing his hand on the glass Helios desperately pleaded with his Queen,

"if you can hear my voice, follow the stars. The light that shines from them will guide you back to me. I know your scared and alone, but I will be here waiting for you on the other side. Please Chelsey come back to me, please wake up."

Helios cast a spell above his Queen sending beautiful silver stars to rain down on top of her. Later that night the King scratched away with his quill keeping himself busy with his duties of the Kingdom. He ended up back logged with work after missing two weeks and it's been over a year now since he left Kosea, since his Queen has been asleep all this time he was finally able to start catching up. Setting down his quill so that he could take a break, he looked over at his Queen,

watching as the silver stars illuminated her face with a soft pale glow on her porcelain skin, as he continued to stare he saw his Queen's hand twitch beginning to stir for the first time in almost a year.

"Ihloi call the medical team together!!! My Queen is stirring!!!" The King bellowed as he ran to open the hibernation pod.

My dreams had turned into nightmares. The last memory I had was of Helios staring down at me with sadness in his eyes as I drifted off into a deep sleep. When I woke up I didn't wake up in reality but instead I woke up in a nightmare. I was in a constant state of fear as I witnessed over and over my planet getting destroyed, my family leaving me, and no one ever wanting to love me. It was like a constant never ending battle in my brain that never stopped. Why can't I wake up?

I feel like I have been asleep for a long time but I couldn't seem to wake up. I would pinch myself over and over in my dreams but even then I couldn't wake myself up.

"Helios help me I can't wake up,"

I would scream out. But he couldn't hear me, nobody ever does. I curled up into the fetal position clutching my ears to block out the screams as I rocked myself waiting for someone to wake me up from this nightmare. I was almost on the brink of insanity.

As the darkness passed day by day, I suddenly saw a light. I sat up staring at it, the light was small at first, but as I stood up and walked closer to it I heard Helios's voice call out to me,

"if you can hear my voice, follow the stars. The light that shines from them will guide you back to me. I know your scared and alone, but I will be here waiting for you on the other side. Please Chelsey come back to me, please wake up."

A moment later I began to see a showering trail of tiny silver stars. I ran with all my might as I followed the stars toward the sound of Helios's voice. Someone had finally called out my name. I was finally freed from my never ending nightmare! Stirring I began to move my body, my chest felt unusually heavy. My eyes flew open as I sat bolt upright letting out a blood curdling scream. Machines came crashing down all around me as the tubes and cords that were sticking all over me were tugged on.

I sat up clutching my head as it pounded from looking at the white lights surrounding me. My arm tweaked as the IV needle moved in my vein. I'll probably end up with a hematoma later. Gazing around wildly looking for my savior my eyes finally landed on Helios, he tossed open the glass pod above me and embraced me in his arms planting a kiss on my forehead.

"My Queen are you alright, I'm here, don't be frightened. I'm here you're okay,"

Helios hushed as he continued to pull me into his arms stroking my back and my hair. He placed his hand under my chin and pulled me toward him planting a kiss on my lips. I tried to embrace Helios but my arm surged with pain as the IV needle shifted in my vein. Tears streaming down I cried out,

"my arm, it hurts."

Helios looked over and finally let me go. He waved over the medical team just as they were entering the room witnessing all the commotion.

"Quick removed all these tubes and needles, they are hurting my Queen."

With lighting speed the doctors removed the tubes and needles, while wrapping my arm with a piece of ice, a cotton ball and some gauze. The head doctor walked up to me and said,

"we need to perform some tests before we can clear you. You've been asleep for almost a year so we want to make sure you're ok and healthy."

I panicked, I didn't want anyone else touching me except for Helios. I hid in his arms trying to get away from all the hands that were reaching out toward me. Helios brushed the hair out of my face,

"it's ok Chelsey, I am here with you, I promise they won't hurt you."

I stared wide eyed finally sitting still so that the doctors can take my vitals, scan my eyes, check my ears, listened to my heart, and had me do a full range of motion to make sure I was able to move without difficulty, while poking and prodding all over my body making sure my organs were still intact after the space jump.

I winced as I stretched my arm out that was bandaged, my body creaking from not moving an inch for almost a year. I looked up at the doctors and winced, I whimpered,

"my body aches. It hurts to move."

"I'll bet, little one, you haven't moved for almost a year. Your body will feel stiff for a few days. We will give you some ointment to help alleviate the muscle pain. You have also been through some major operations. We planted a couple of chips in your brain. One chip is a universal translator that will enable you to speak any language so that way you can communicate with any species on our planet. The other chip is an anti-gravity chip that will prevent you from free floating into oblivion. Your body has been through so much, you will be sore for quite awhile. As far as I can see you are clear to go. There is nothing majorly wrong."

"We will also bring you ice every few hours to help stop some of the bruising from your hematoma. We are incredibly sorry about that. We should have gotten to you sooner. We will accept our punishment without complaint for the pain you suffered,"

the head doctor said with sorrow in his voice as he bowed his head in regret. Punishment what punishment? Nobody needs punishing. It's my fault for bolting up out of my sleep.

"It's not your fault. You guys saved my life. If it weren't for you I would have died back on my planet. No one needs to be punished,"

I said as I waved my hands towards them showing my sincerity and how I had meant it. With a sigh of relief the head doctor bowed his head,

"thank you for showing mercy on us, we will never forget your kindness,"

and with that the doctors cleared the room so that I could finally be alone with Helios.

After all the doctors had cleared the room, Helios asked with deep concern in his voice,

"my little one why did it take you so long to come back to me?" I was so worried that you would never wake up."

I didn't know how to responded to Helios. I didn't want him to worry about the nightmare I was stuck in, so I blurted out the first thing that came to my mind,

"I got lost in the dark. Then all of a sudden I saw a light and I followed it. I heard your voice calling out my name, I followed the sound of your voice and a trail of silver stars and then the next thing I knew I was awake. You were the first person to call out my name and save me from the darkness."

Helios was shocked by what she had said. His star trail summoning charm had actually worked. He couldn't believe all he had to do was call out her name and she would have come running back to him.

She must have truly loved him and relied on him if she had waited on him to call her by name to save her from her worst dreams, dreams where no one ever recognized her. His eyes saddened when he heard her hesitate on the word darkness, like she was holding back information on what happened when she was asleep. Thinking she was afraid to repeat what she went through he didn't try to prove any further.

She would tell him in due time. He kissed his Queen softly on her paled lips and scooped her up into his arms carrying her to his chambers so that she could lay in a much comfier bed than the beds in the medical wing. Helios sat me down on another bed and then came and sat behind me pulling me against him as he wrapped his arms around me holding me close. He rocked me in his arms nuzzling the top of my head for a minute before he spoke.

"I am glad that you finally came back to me. You were asleep for a very long time. You've changed a lot since we last spoke. You have grown even more beautiful since you filled out and your breasts grew two sizes,"

Helios murmured as he began to stroke my chest. When Helios said my breasts, it finally dawned on me that they said I had been asleep for almost a year. If that were the case then that would mean I was almost fifteen years old!!! I pushed Helios aside shooting up out of bed and ran to the nearest mirror in the room to examine myself. Gazing into the mirror I could barely recognize myself. My hair had grown half way down my back and my chest wasn't flat anymore.

I now had boobs!!! My breasts were the size of small oranges. They weren't as big as my cousin's boobs but I finally had breasts. No wonder why my chest felt heavier than normal when I woke up. Helios silently walked up behind me curious to know what was going through my mind.

As I continued to stare at myself in the mirror a second dawning happened as I realized that I was completely naked. Memories about my last moments on Earth came flooding back to me, I remembered that I had dropped the dress I was trying to cover up with when I had collapsed back on Earth and Helios caught me. I was so busy getting roasted alive I couldn't be bothered to remember to get dressed. Have I been naked this whole time???

The question ran through my mind as my face turned deep red. I fled back to the bed and dove under the blankets shrieking at Helios,

"don't look at me I'm naked!!!"

Helios frowned as he walked over to his bed, he lifted the blanket the female child hid under, peering under the blanket he asked,

"what's naked? You look beautiful as you are."

"Get away from me!"

I shrieked yanking the blanket out of his hand and hid myself once more.

"I don't have any clothes to cover myself with. I lost the last article of clothing I had when you found me. Find me some clothes I have to cover up I'm naked!!!"

I shouted wrapping myself like a burrito in the blanket. I felt Helios sit down next to me he lifted the blanket off of my face and gazed into my eyes with a puzzled expression,

"females in Kosea don't wear clothes. Only the males wear robes or tunics if they are of lower stature. A female's clothes are the mate markings they receive after they mate. The markings appear on their breasts and privates covering them so they don't need clothes. The Female's in Kosea are proud and love to show off their spousal markings. They don't ever hide them."

he said stroking my back through the blanket. My jaw dropped at this information. So what he was telling me was that I was whisked away to a world where females walk around naked???

"I don't get to wear clothes anymore???"

I shrieked! No, no, no, I can't do that. It's too embarrassing. I can't walk around naked. No way that's not going to happen!!! My cheeks began to flush a deep apple red as I tried to pull away from Helios's grasp. Helios refused to let go, holding my wrist tight in his hand. I turned around turning my body into dead weight and face planted myself face down into the pillow crying from the embarrassing thought of having to walk around naked for the rest of my life. Could my nightmare get any worse I thought as I kicked my feet up and down like a spoiled toddler throwing a tantrum.

I couldn't face him, I shuddered just thinking about having to walk around naked for the rest of my life...The rest of my life huh... I can never return to my world. It was completely obliterated. I have nowhere to go back to. No home, no family, and no planet. Nothing will ever be normal again will it? Everything I have ever known is completely gone. Tears flowed like a river down my face as I cried myself to sleep exhausted from today and still aching all over from not being able to move during hyper-sleep.

Helios panicked seeing the female child crying and trembling at his touch. He quickly released her wrist afraid that he might have hurt her. He watched as she buried her face into the pillow and kicked up a fuss about clothes crying into the pillow. He wondered why she was so upset about not wearing clothes? It was normal for females to not wear any. Her anguish made his heart ache. Not leaving her side he sat next to her waiting for her to expend all of her energy. After awhile she stopped crying, he reached out and touched her shoulder,

"Chelsey are you alright?"

He whispered softly, but she didn't even stir at the sound of his voice or his touch, panicking again he summoned Ihloi. He was afraid that she would fall asleep for another whole year.

"Ihloi why is she sleeping again? Something must be wrong. She was asleep for a whole year and she just cried herself back into a sleep. Is she sick?"

The King questioned with worry written all over his face. Ihloi stared down at the tear soaked face of the female child, he chuckled,

"female humans are fragile creatures. They are even more fragile than the females in Kosea. They need to sleep once every twenty four hours. They don't have the same energy stamina that we have. Our kind doesn't sleep at all, but both male and female humans do. They are weak creatures. She is also still recovering from the space jump, it will take time for her to regain her motor skills since she hasn't been able to move for almost a year, her muscles will exhaust themselves very quickly."

Helios looked down at his Queen resting as he thought to himself, so while I remain awake for all eternity my Queen will sleep throughout the night.

"Sire I couldn't help but overhear her cries from down the corridor, but I think you have just experienced her first meltdown."

The King stared at the female child sleeping with her face all scrunched up.

"She seems to be upset about clothes."

"She will come around Sire, she's still young and has time to learn and adapt to our ways. Humans always wear clothes on Earth as was their custom, but once she receives your mate marks, I'm sure she'll come to love showing them off."

The King nodded, leaning over he stroked the child's back in soothing circles.

"How much longer until we arrive in Kosea? I'm itching to finally bring my Queen home."

"We should be arriving in about a week. Due to the weight we are carrying with us, the engines have been running slower so it is taking us a little longer than usual to make it back."

"That's a relief to hear, I find this ship to be a little stuffy for my taste, and I'm sure my Queen will too, when she finds out there isn't much to do on this ship and she won't be able to play to her hearts content. A transport ship is not meant for a child, she needs space to run around and play."

"Speaking of being able to play, how is her arm should I get more ice?" Ihloi asked concerned about the huge bruise peaking out of the bandage.

The King gently shifted her arm out from under the blanket checking the wrap, he saw the ice had completely melted, he unraveled the wrap and gasped, her arm had turned black and blue from where the the needle was stuck in her arm earlier. He sighed, wishing he had more of the healing cream Asacarmenthus had given him before the start of his trip, but he had used the last of it on the child trying to heal all of her burns from the Sun, and now they had to wait to get back to Kosea in order to get more.

"She needs more ice, it looks like her arm has gotten worse since leaving the medical wing."

Ihloi nodded, rushing out of the King's chambers, a moment later he reappeared with a chunk of ice. Together they rewrapped her arm with the fresh piece of ice. The child moaned turning away from them just as they finished wrapping her arm back up. Backing up, they stayed quiet so as not to disturb the child.

"Knock knock," there was a quiet knock on the door, "sorry to disturb you, your Highness, but you are needed at the helm, the captain is requesting your help."